Pet books we like...

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Moist mini loaves loaded with dried fruits...

On Monday, I mentioned that one of our new neighbors stopped by to welcome us to the neighborhood and brought us some fresh from the garden vegetables. As a thank you, I went sifting through the recipe piles looking for something mini sized that would be nice to wrap up and take over.

I opted for the recipe, Mini Fruit and Sunflower Loaves, as I had everything on hand and it gave me a reason to use my mini loaf pans that don't get enough attention! Cornmeal adds an interesting slightly crunchy texture to the bread that is studded with three kinds of dried fruit - golden raisins, cranberries and cherries. We used sunflower seeds in the recipe, but I think a fun variation would be to use peptias instead. Each caramel colored loaf is very moist with a slightly sweet and flowery flavor coming from orange blossom honey. Maple syrup also adds to the gentle sweetness which is enhanced by a hint of orange from fresh grated orange zest. To make rotating them halfway through a little easier, I placed the small pans on a heavy duty baking sheet before going into the oven.